Swarms of locusts crossed into Balaghat district of Madhya Pradesh from eastern Maharashtra on Thursday afternoon, a senior agriculture department official said.
The pests were sighted over Sondya village in Tumsar tehsil of Bhandara district of Maharashtra around 1 pm, said Divisional Joint Director of Agriculture Ravi Bhosle.
The swarms then crossed the Bavanthadi river and reached Balaghat district, he said.
"Officials of agriculture and revenue departments of Madhya Pradesh and scientists of regional IPM (Integrated Pest Management) centers spoke with officials in Bhandara and took a stock of thesituation," Bhosle said.
"Our staff in the border area is keeping a watch on the locusts' movement in case they reenter Maharashtra," he added.
Earlier in the day, officials had said that the swarms were moving eastwards, towards Gondia district of Maharashtra after entering Bhandara from Nagpur district on Wednesday.
Clouds of locusts were seen at Temani village in Bhandara district on Wednesday evening.
An agriculture department team rushed to Bhandara in the early hours of Thursday and sprayed pesticides from two fire tenders on trees in one-km radius in Temani, Bhosle had informed.
"The pests had settled on mango, teak, moha, jambhul, ber and other trees in the area. Pesticides were sprayed and by morning, a large number of them had fallen off the trees and died," he said.
"Mango trees were affected the most. They devoured leaves but not the fruit. Also, no damage was seen in the paddy fields," he said.
LIVE TV
